The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Components in a vehicle can be arranged to extend through an opening defined by a structural member of the vehicle. As an example a thermal expansion valve (TXV) may extend through an opening defined by a firewall of the vehicle. In another example, fluid lines extending from an engine bay of the vehicle may extend along the undercarriage of the vehicle and then into a floorboard of the vehicle to a rear HVAC system.
A component and the structural member receiving the component can be configured such that the component is received orthogonally to a surface of the structural member. In such configurations, a seal can be used to seal an area between the component and the opening defined by the structural component. For example, a die-cut style seal having a single cut axis may be used to create an interference fit with the opening.
As an example, a TXV is commonly used to control the flow of refrigerant through an evaporator of a vehicle air conditioning system. The TXV meters flow of refrigerant to the evaporator based on the temperature of the refrigerant that has passed through the evaporator, as sensed by a sensor bulb. On an evaporator side of a TXV housing, which houses the TXV, an evaporator “in” line and an evaporator “out” line extend from the TXV housing. Engine bay piping provides a conduit for the TXV on the engine bay side of a firewall. The TXV extends from the conduit in order to pass through an opening in the firewall.
Typically, a TXV pass-through seal includes a die-cut foam seal having an outer profile that is orthogonal relative to the instrument panel opening. The die-cut seal is either adhered to the TXV conduit or designed as an interference fit to support the TXV. This approach works best when the TXV is loaded orthogonally relative to the firewall aperture. In scenarios where the TXV is loaded non-orthogonally relative to a sealing surface on the firewall, a seal having an inner profile that is non-orthogonal relative to the firewall aperture may result in sealing gaps, increased noise, and/or stress to the TXV.
Accordingly, a single cut axis seal may create the necessary interference only when the surface of the structural member is orthogonal to an assembly direction of the component. Therefore, a pass-through seal and/or system for sealing a component to surfaces that are non-orthogonal relative to the loading angle of the component is desirable